Someone Who Cares
by Robin Rainyday
Summary: Rated for bad language. The night is stormy, not many people would want to be out on a night like this. But there are a few. Mokuba is one of them. Ryou Bakura finds Mokuba alone at the bus station. What's happened? (Non Yaoi)
1. A Dark and Lonely Night

########### Chapter One ###########  
  
Rain drummed down on top of the shelter of the bus station. The night was a dark tempest, rain fell relentlessly. It was almost midnight and the bus station was nearly empty and everyone that was there waiting for the last bus of the night was inside where it was dry. Mokuba though was outside alone, turned towards the wall of the small shelter trying to fight persistent tears. He shuddered as he thought back a few hours ago and a fresh wave of sorrow roll over him.  
  
"Mokuba?" A gentle voice asked. Mokuba turned in surprise and found Ryou Bakura looking down at him. Mokuba sniffed and rubbed his eyes quickly.  
  
"Ba-Bakura... what are you doing here?" he asked. Ryou took a seat beside Mokuba on the hard bench.  
  
"Never mind that, why are you here Mokuba? It's nearly midnight, Kaiba must be frantic!" Mokuba's face crumbled, tears forming in his eyes again. Ryou's concerned face ate at him. Ryou moved closer and put an arm around the ten-year-old.  
  
"It's okay Mokuba," Mokuba burst into tears. Ryou soothingly patted him on the back. Mokuba's cried grew louder. Ryou pulled the small boy into a hug muffling his cries. Mokuba held on to him sobbing as Ryou whispered comfort into his ear.  
  
"Mokuba, what's wrong?" Ryou asked gently. Mokuba said nothing. Ryou didn't ask again. He just held Mokuba until the distraught boy stopped crying. Eventually, Mokuba's tears ran out. He still held on to Ryou as if he was a lifeline. Ryou put his hand in his sweater and used it to wipe Mokuba's tears away. Ryou's eyes widened when he felt Mokuba's face.  
  
"Mokuba! You're burning up! We have to get you inside." Ryou looked anxiously at Mokuba and felt his forehead with a bare hand.  
  
"Please..." Mokuba begged softly.  
  
"Please what?" Ryou asked.  
  
"Please..." Mokuba pleaded again.  
  
"Mokuba, where do you live? I'll call a Taxi and get you home." Ryou said to the boy slowly. Mokuba shook his head furiously.  
  
"Please, Mokuba tell me," Ryou implored. Slowly Mokuba told Ryou his address. Ryou repeated it to himself several times and nodded. He picked up Mokuba and ran into the bus station.  
  
The station was as lifeless on the outside as it was on the inside. Most of the people waiting slept on the uncomfortable seats or smoked. Ryou dashed up to the ticket master. The Man selling tickets had a sleepy look. As Ryou came towards him he tried to look a bit more alert, but he was too tired to really do much else.  
  
"Please!" Ryou said urgently to the man, "I need you to call a taxi, this boy is very sick and I need to get him home right away." The man looked down at Mokuba who was now shivering. Sweat poured down his forehead and he now clung to Ryou with an iron grip. The Man woke up a little and nodded quickly. He got a phone book from under his desk and called the first number for a taxi he could find. Ryou thanked him and sat down on one of the cold, uncomfortable plastic chairs to wait.  
  
###Kaiba Manor###  
  
Ryou told Mokuba to wait in the taxi where it was dry while he got some help Mokuba wouldn't let go of his arm so he had to pull away from him. It was nearly one o'clock now as he trudged up a grassy hill towards the main gate of Kaiba's Mansion. Several times Ryou slipped catching himself before he fell. He pushed on a buzzer.  
  
"Yes?" a voice crackled on the other end of the speaker.  
  
"This is Ryou Bakura, I have Mokuba Kaiba outside in a taxi, he's very sick." Ryou said into the speaker.  
  
"Look, we don't have times for jokes like this kid," said the voice on the other end of the line.  
  
"What?" Ryou asked in distress.  
  
"Mokuba Kaiba is currently safe and sound in bed, we're busy right now so pull a prank on someone else or we'll call the cops," the voice answered. There was a bang of thunder.  
  
"You don't understand!" Ryou protested.  
  
"9...1..."  
  
"Okay, I'll leave..." Ryou said in defeat. He ran back down the hill barely able to keep his footing on the dark slippery path. He got back into the taxi.  
  
"Mokuba, if it's okay with you, I'll take you to my apartment... there's a slight... misunderstanding..." Ryou said looking towards Mokuba. Mokuba nodded shivering profusely.  
  
###Ryou's Apartment###  
  
Ryou carried Mokuba up the stairs and into his apartment. Gently he laid Mokuba on his bed and rummaged in his dresser until he found an old pair of red plaid flannel pajamas. He handed them to Mokuba.  
  
"You put these on while I get more blankets and pillows." Ryou said. Mokuba nodded mutely still shivering. Ryou quickly left the room so the younger boy could change. When he came back; Mokuba was only half dressed his arms around his chest looking down at the ground. Ryou had to help him put the nightshirt on. Ryou dried Mokuba's wet hair with a towel and put a thermometer in his mouth. He waited a few minutes until a beep signaled it was done.  
  
"Oh dear!" Ryou cried looking at the thermometer, "One hundred and four degrees! Mokuba, you're very sick, what were you doing out there in the rain?" He put Mokuba under the covers and piled blankets on him. Mokuba finally was able to stop shivering. Mokuba looked up at Ryou with a glazed expression.  
  
"Ba...ura..." He mumbled softly.  
  
"Yes Mokuba?" Ryou asked.  
  
"Thank...you..." Mokuba slowly fell asleep. Ryou sighed in relief having the boy finally safe and dry. Ryou felt the boy's head. He was still hot. Ryou grimaced. He left the room and changed into dry clothing. He quickly came back in wearing a pair of thick green pajamas with a blue robe over them. He pulled an over stuffed chair by the bed and sat beside Mokuba. It seemed the fever was slowly breaking, but Ryou settled in for a night of waiting to make sure the fever didn't rise again.  
  
"What happened to you Mokuba?" Ryou asked quietly. He looked out the window and watched the rain pour down into the dark streets below.  
  
#### TBC ####  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh I am just using the characters and places in a story, no money is involved.  
  
Read and Review please 


	2. The Morning After

########### Chapter Two ###########  
  
Mokuba woke up slowly from the best night of sleep he had had in weeks. He did a double take when he realized he wasn't at home.  
  
"Where..." He whispered. Suddenly it all came flooding back.  
  
"Oh yeah... Bakura..." Mokuba looked around the cluttered room. The walls had tons of posters and very well done paintings and drawings. Mokuba studied these for a while and saw that there was a picture of Yugi, Joey, Tristan and Tea. He also spotted several other duelists all making victory signs or striking a pose.  
  
"Wow, Bakura must have drawn them. He's really good," Mokuba said softly. The desk was cluttered with interesting looking nick-knacks. They looked like they were from different countries. There was a small totem pole, a few ancient coins, old jewellery, the list went on. Ryou was a junk collector not just of ancient stuff; there were a bunch of marbles and a huge stack of comic books as well as many other things. Mokuba looked over to his right and gasped when he saw Ryou asleep on an overstuffed chair beside him.  
  
"You... you stayed here all night with me?" Mokuba whispered not wanting to wake up Ryou. Mokuba took a deep breath not wanting to cry again.  
  
'Bakura's so different from Seto," Mokuba thought to himself, "I mean, Seto's room is totally blank, it has absolutely no personality. When I tried to put a little statue in it, it mysteriously ended up in my room. Seto would have never stayed with me all night now-a-days... he would have been too busy.' Ryou groaned a bit from the chair he was sleeping in. He slowly woke up yawning and stretching. He looked around a bit confused and then remembered why he wasn't in his bed.  
  
"Mokuba..." Ryou yawned, "How was your sleep? Are you feeling a bit better?"  
  
"Yeah, much better!" Mokuba lied. It felt like someone was twisting a corkscrew inside his small intestines.  
  
"Mokuba," Ryou said. Mokuba couldn't help but grin.  
  
"Okay, you got me I fell like cra—crude," Mokuba amended. Ryou nodded.  
  
"Do you want some chicken broth for breakfast then?" Ryou asked. Mokuba nodded. Ryou got up and stumbled out of his messy room tiredly every so often stretching out a stiff limb.  
  
"After you finished you can tell me your number and I'll call your older brother," Ryou yelled from the other room. Mokuba winced.  
  
"Why?" Mokuba called back. There was a pause and Ryou walked back into the room.  
  
"Mokuba, I think your brother would be out of his mind with worry right now and you need to see a doctor. The fever might be gone but that doesn't mean it can't come back." Ryou explained. Mokuba shook his head bitterly.  
  
"He doesn't know I'm gone." he muttered.  
  
"Mokuba, don't say that!" Ryou said coming to sit down beside the boy again.  
  
"But it's true," Mokuba said, "He doesn't know when I'm gone, he never notices. If I go to Canada for the summer and not call or write to him I bet when I got back and he saw me he would ask me how my day went."  
  
"Mokuba, you act as if your brother doesn't love you," Ryou said in concern.  
  
"Oh no," Mokuba said shaking his head, "he loves me a lot, that's why he's saved me so many times... but... but Bakura, don't you see? He doesn't care! There's a difference between love and caring!" Ryou paused and nodded.  
  
"Yes, yes I do..." He said softly getting a faraway look. He looked back at Mokuba and sighed, "But you still need to tell me a number that can reach him. You need a doctor," Mokuba nodded reluctantly.  
  
"There's only one number that will link you to him directly, it's a private number, only I know it." Mokuba told Ryou the number.  
  
"Okay, I'll call him after I get you your breakfast," Ryou said with a nod walking out of the room. A few minutes later he walked back in with the broth.  
  
"Here," Ryou said, "You defiantly need to eat, you were too light, even for me." Mokuba looked at the broth and smelled it.  
  
"What? It's my own recipe, Tin Can Broth!" Ryou retorted. Mokuba smiled and took a sip.  
  
"You cook canned soup way better than my brother that's for sure!" Mokuba laughed taking another sip. Ryou laughed but too soon his look darkened.  
  
"I need to call him now Mokuba, you stay here and eat okay?" Mokuba nodded sadly as Ryou left the room.  
  
Ryou sighed and looked at the phone. He really didn't want to call Kaiba... after all Kaiba barely knew him. He was probably classed as 'Yugi's Friend approach with extreme rudeness' but Mokuba needed to go home, rest and get better so he dialled the number.  
  
"Look, Mokuba, I do NOT want to discuss this with you right now!" Said the sharp voice of Seto Kaiba at the other end of the line.  
  
"No, Kaiba, this isn't Mokuba." Ryou said. There was a pause at the end of the line.  
  
"Who is this?!? How did you get this number?" Kaiba asked suspiciously.  
  
"This is Ryou... Ryou Bakura!" Ryou answered.  
  
"Bakura?!?!? How did you get this number?!?!??" Kaiba asked again.  
  
"You must listen Kaiba, Mokuba is very sick! He's at my house right now and—" Ryou was cut off.  
  
"What is Mokuba doing at your house sick?!?!?" Ryou explained how he found Mokuba at the Bus Station in the rain and why he didn't take him back home to Kaiba. There was silence at the end of the line. It was funny though... it wasn't a worried silence... it seemed ... angry... but then again it could have just be Ryou's imagination.  
  
"What's your address?" Kaiba asked with a barely restrained voice. Ryou told Kaiba his address and Kaiba quickly hung up. Ryou listened to the dial tone for a few minutes not knowing what to make of Kaiba's strange behaviour. He hung up the phone and made his way back to his room.  
  
"He didn't notice I was gone did he?" Mokuba asked. Ryou opened his mouth the reply but he was cut off.  
  
"Did he?!?" Ryou shook his head.  
  
"I didn't think so." Mokuba said looking out the window.  
  
"Mokuba," Ryou said sympathetically.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it Bakura," Mokuba whispered. He looked back at Bakura and then at the wall.  
  
"Did you draw all those?" he asked. Ryou blushed and nodded.  
  
"They're not very good," he said softly. Mokuba shook his head.  
  
"No, Bakura! They're great, I've never seen someone that could draw as well as you and I've been to art galleries!" Ryou laughed.  
  
"Thank you Mokuba."  
  
"How did you ever have time to draw that one?" He asked pointing to a picture of Mai blowing a kiss, "She's always on the go, she can't stand still for two minutes!"  
  
"I only need someone to hold a pose for five minutes once I get the basic shape I can do it from memory," Ryou explained, Ryou chuckled, "Mai was very adamant about getting herself drawn after see saw a picture of Joey. I made two, that one was the bad version of them, Mai kept the other."  
  
"Wow, maybe you could draw me sometime!" Mokuba said. Ryou nodded.  
  
"I would love to Mokuba, it would be my—" Ryou was interrupted by the buzzer, "One moment," Ryou left and answered.  
  
"It's Kaiba," said the cold voice.  
  
"Come on up." Ryou said. He walked back into the room.  
  
"Your brother's here." he said. Mokuba groaned.  
  
"You'd better get dressed." Mokuba nodded mutely and got up looking around.  
  
"Erm... Bakura where are my clothes?"  
  
"Oh yeah, I washed them," Ryou said leaving to get Mokuba's clothing.  
  
"Washed them? That's nice of you!" Mokuba said. Ryou came back in carrying Mokuba's clothes.  
  
"Here you are, nice and dry." Ryou said handing them to Mokuba and then leaving the room. There was a knock on the door. Ryou answered it.  
  
"Hullo Kaiba," Ryou said politely. Kaiba said nothing and walked into the room uninvited.  
  
"Where is he?" He asked stiffly.  
  
"He's in the other room getting changed." Ryou told him. Kaiba said nothing. The two waited in an uneasy silence. Finally the door opened and Mokuba walked in. Mokuba looked up at Kaiba and Kaiba down at Mokuba both glaring at each other. Ryou felt uncomfortable.  
  
"Why did you leave?" Kaiba asked his gaze never wavering.  
  
"None of your business," Mokuba answered with a glower.  
  
"You're in trouble."  
  
"I know." Ryou squirmed a bit. Mokuba noticed and gave Ryou a kind look.  
  
"Thank you for taking care of me Bakura." He said with a smile. He looked back at Kaiba his smile instantly flipping into a frown.  
  
"Let's go," Kaiba commanding dragging Mokuba out of the room. He stopped and looked back at Ryou.  
  
"I owe you," he said.  
  
"What? No, it's fine!" Ryou said.  
  
"No, I owe you a favour and I don't like owing people favours so think of something quickly. When you do call... call my secretary this time." with that Kaiba was gone. Ryou looked around. His small apartment seemed extremely big and empty now without Mokuba. He sighed sadly and glanced at a calendar.  
  
"Two more weeks and he'll come home for a while..." He said softly.  
  
####  
  
TBC  
  
####  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of it's characters, no money is involved during the making of this fic.  
  
Read and review! 


	3. The Car Ride Home

############ Chapter Three ############  
  
The car was utterly silent. Mokuba was in the back seat arms crossed over his chest staring blankly out the window.  
  
'It's okay Mokuba...' Bakura's words echoed in Mokuba's mind. 'It's okay Mokuba..." how could he put so much feeling into those three words? How could he sound so concerned? He stayed with him the whole night ready to help when necessary. It felt so wonderful to have someone there... just... there...  
  
"Why were you there?" Kaiba asked with an icy note in his voice. Mokuba instantly snapped to attention.  
  
"Because, Bakura found me," Mokuba answered his voice showing no expression. In the rear view mirror Mokuba could see Kaiba's eyes narrow.  
  
"Why were you there!?" he asked again.  
  
"Because I couldn't get home!"  
  
"You know what I meant, why were you at a bus station in the middle of the night?"  
  
"Why should I even tell you? You wouldn't have known if Bakura hadn't called you!" Mokuba's voice cracked.  
  
"Because I'm your older brother! You don't know how much it scared me when I answered the phone and it wasn't you!" Kaiba shouted nearly hitting the blue Toyota in front of them.  
  
"Because of you..." Mokuba said softly.  
  
"What?" Kaiba asked harshly.  
  
"I said because of you!!" Mokuba yelled, "because of our 'talk' last night! Because you're killing yourself!!!!"  
  
"I'm not killing myself!" Kaiba said in exasperation, "I've been over working a little yes but—"  
  
"You've been overworking for the past five years!!!" Mokuba cut in, "You're not there anymore when I need you!"  
  
"Mokuba! It's for us! You know that!" Kaiba argued.  
  
"It used to be for us, now it's just for you, I'm not there anymore," Mokuba said.  
  
"Mokuba! Do NOT start this again!" Kaiba spat.  
  
"You don't care anymore!" Mokuba continued.  
  
"I'm doing this for our happiness!"  
  
"You're doing this for power!!!!!!!!"  
  
"You don't understand Mokuba."  
  
"What don't I understand? I understand fine. YOU don't understand. You don't understand anything about me! You don't understand that if it weren't for that fever we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. I understand that if I had just gone home without Bakura calling you and acted like nothing had happened the other night that you would have been happy because you wouldn't have known! Ignorance is bliss!" Mokuba yelled, "Would you be happy if you didn't know where your brother goes in the middle of the night? Would you be happy if I wasn't there? Then you wouldn't have to look after anything. You could be free to do what ever you bloody well want! Did you know that I've been gone from home a week before and you didn't even notice Seto?!?!?" Mokuba yelled. The breaks squealed and the car came to a sharp halt. The car behind them bumped into them scratching the bumper. A loud honk rang out and the car was in silence again. Kaiba was breathing heavily. His eyes were closed. His knuckles were becoming white from holding the steering wheel so tightly. Mokuba's eyes were huge. He had just blurted out one of the most important secret he'd ever had.  
  
"What did you say?" Kaiba said softly in disbelief.  
  
"What do you care?" Mokuba muttered closing his eyes trying to stop silent tears, furious with himself. The car behind them began honking furiously interrupting Kaiba. Kaiba began driving again.  
  
##  
  
Kaiba parked the car and didn't move. Mokuba slowly got out of his seat wondering what his brother was going to do. Kaiba did nothing to stop Mokuba so Mokuba ran out of the garage into the house up the stairs and into his room locking the door behind him.  
  
Mokuba leaned on the door heavily for a few moments.  
  
"Shit, what am I going to do?" Mokuba asked softly. He slowly walked over to the window and looked down at the damp courtyard below. It felt too big and empty here. It always had and Mokuba was sure that it always would be.  
  
"Ryou's house was nice... I mean... it was small and cozy and... what am I thinking?" Mokuba asked himself shaking his head, "Seto's mad... I've never seen him act so shaken before..." There was a knock on the door. Mokuba didn't turn away from the window.  
  
"Mokuba," it was Kaiba. Mokuba said nothing.  
  
"Mokuba, please talk to me!" Kaiba said through the door. He sounded desperate. Mokuba closed his eyes.  
  
"Mokuba..." Seto's voice, it sounded so worried, it sounded like the old Seto... not Kaiba, Seto, his big brother... but it wasn't him... it wasn't his Seto...  
  
"Mokuba..." that voice said again. Tears ran down Mokuba's face.  
  
"...why?" Kaiba's voice was so soft he barely heard him.  
  
"GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mokuba finally shouted, "JUST GO THE FUCK AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!" There was stillness at the other side of the door but he was still there. Finally his presents was gone and Mokuba jumped on his bed sobbing.  
  
##  
  
It was the next morning and Kaiba had already left for work. Mokuba hadn't heard a word from him since the day before. He was starting to get a bit worried. Kaiba should have at least tried to punish him somehow, even a week without T.V. would have shown that at least Kaiba had some spirit in him. But he had ignored Mokuba for the rest of that day. Mokuba played with the food on his plate.  
  
"Maybe I pushed him too hard..." Mokuba said in worry. Then he shook his head, "Then again, he's the one that pushed me into running away several times without his knowing.  
  
'Wow, maybe you can draw me sometime!'  
  
'I would love to Mokuba,'  
  
'What? It's my own recipe! Tin Can Broth!'  
  
'How was your sleep? Are you feeling better?'  
  
'You... you stayed here all night with me?' Mokuba sighed. Now Bakura, he's what a big brother should be.  
  
"Sometimes I wish Seto wasn't my brother..." Mokuba admitted to himself, "He loves me but he doesn't care, why can't he care? He used to care..." Mokuba sighed again. He looked around the big empty kitchen.  
  
"That's it, if he's not going to punish me I might as well go out!" Mokuba declared. He ran up to his brother's room.  
  
"Let's see... Mutou... Mutou... ah here it is, Yugi Mutou!" Mokuba said finding Yugi's number. He picked up the phone and dialled the number. After three rings someone finally answered.  
  
"Hello?" an elderly voice answered.  
  
"Hello Mr. Mutou, I was wondering if Yugi was there," Mokuba said.  
  
"Why yes, just a moment," There was a small thump as the phone was put down and Mokuba could make out Solomon yelling, "YUGI PHONE!!!" on the other end of the line.  
  
"Hello?" Yugi answered.  
  
"Hey Yugi? It's Mokuba, I was wondering if you know Bakura's number." there was silence at the end of the line for a few seconds.  
  
"Sorry Mokuba, I can't help you," Yugi said his voice sounding a bit sad.  
  
"Huh?! I thought you guys were friends!" Mokuba protested.  
  
"There are reasons why Mokuba," Yugi said softly, "There were events in Duelist Kingdom that he won't forgive himself for. I can give you his address though,"  
  
"Yes please!" Mokuba said happily at being able to find out Bakura's address. Even though he had spent the night he was too fazed out to pay attention to where Kaiba was driving. Yugi told Mokuba Bakura's address and direction so that he wouldn't get lost.  
  
"Thanks Yugi, Bye!"  
  
"Bye Mokuba."  
  
#####  
  
TBC  
  
#####  
  
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh  
  
Read and Review!!!!! 


	4. So Different

########### Chapter Four ###########  
  
Mokuba walked towards Bakura's house. It had surprised him that Yugi hadn't had Bakura's phone number. He had always thought Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea were all good friends with Bakura, but he guessed he was wrong.  
  
"Well, if they're not going to be his friend I will," Mokuba said in determination. Mokuba went up to the apartment and looked at the piece of paper he had written on.  
  
"5-2-1," Mokuba said as he dialled in the numbers. There was a beeping sound and then he heard Bakura's voice answer.  
  
"Hello?" Bakura sounded a bit unsure.  
  
"Hey Bakura! It's Mokuba! Can I come up?" Mokuba asked.  
  
"Come on up," Bakura said, there was another buzz and Mokuba opened the door.  
  
When Mokuba got to the fifth floor Bakura was waiting for him.  
  
"Hello Mokuba," Ryou said warmly, "What brings you here? You didn't forget anything did you?" Mokuba shook his head.  
  
"Nope! I came to see you Bakura!" Bakura looked a bit surprised.  
  
"Really?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah, really! I want to take you out for lunch, it's the least I can do after what you did the before night!" Ryou frowned.  
  
"You're not feeling sick anymore?" Ryou asked in concern.  
  
"Nah, I slept all day yesterday and took a Tylenol, I feel wonderful!" Mokuba beamed, "Please let me Bakura, I want to!" Ryou sighed and then nodded with a small smile.  
  
"Where to then?" he asked.  
  
"Where do you like to eat?" Mokuba countered.  
  
"Well, I don't really have a favourite... you decide," Ryou said.  
  
"Oh... okay! Oh, I know this great Chinese place, it's delicious."  
  
"Alright then," Ryou said pulling on a dark green raincoat. He looked over at Mokuba.  
  
"Mokuba, didn't you bring a coat? It's going to rain and you're still recovering.  
  
"Oops..." Mokuba said sheepishly, "I kinda forgot it... I'll be fine,"  
  
"Nonsense, I'm bound to have an old one in the closet." Ryou said starting to rummage around in the closet.  
  
'Seto would have said it was my own fault and don't complain when you get wet...' Finally Ryou brought out a well-kept Yellow raincoat about Mokuba's size.  
  
"Here you are Mokuba," Ryou said handing it to Mokuba. Mokuba put it on.  
  
"Perfect fit," Ryou commented.  
  
"Thanks Bakura!" Mokuba said looking down at it, it was a nice raincoat.  
  
"Now where is this restaurant?" Ryou asked.  
  
"Not far actually, come on let's go!" Mokuba said grabbing onto Ryou's hand and pulling the surprised Ryou through the hall and down the stairs. Ryou started to laugh.  
  
"My, you have a remarkable amount of energy Mokuba!" the two finally came to a stop in the lobby of Ryou's apartment. Both panted a bit and then walked outside onto the street.  
  
"What's your favourite colour?" Mokuba asked.  
  
"Green, yours?" Ryou answered.  
  
"Blue. What's your favourite animal?"  
  
"Umm... I don't know, I never had a preference... Cat I suppose... yours?"  
  
"Cat," Mokuba agreed, "What's your favourite number?"  
  
"38," Ryou answered.  
  
"Why 38?"  
  
"Oh, three is half of eight."  
  
"No it isn't, four is half of eight!" Mokuba disagreed. Ryou laughed.  
  
"Have you ever put a piece of paper over the number eight? You divide it in two to get a three." Mokuba chuckled.  
  
"That's a good one!"  
  
"What's your favourite number Mokuba?"  
  
"17 because I like the way it sounds..." Mokuba admitted.  
  
"Why all the questions?" Ryou asked.  
  
"I want to know!" Mokuba laughed.  
  
A faint drizzle of rain came down as the two boys walked down the street. They were both in a comfortable silence. Mokuba a step in front of Ryou with a huge smile on his face.  
  
"Here it is!" Mokuba said pulling the white haired teen into the Chinese Restaurant.  
  
"Oh, Mokuba, back so soon?" The waiter asked. Mokuba nodded. The waiter looked over and saw Ryou.  
  
"Is this the brother you talk so much about?" The waiter asked looking disdainfully at Ryou but had a false smile.  
  
"Oh no! This is a friend of mine, Bakura, Bakura, this is Daniel," the waiter's look instantly brightened.  
  
"Well then, let me lead you to your favourite table, no one has it today,"  
  
"That's great Daniel!" Mokuba said. Ryou and Mokuba followed him to a table beside a window. It had a good view of the street; you could easily see all the people walking past.  
  
"What would you like for drinks?" Daniel asked handing Ryou a menu, Mokuba it seemed didn't need one.  
  
"I'll have a Coke, what do you want Bakura?" Mokuba asked. Ryou looked at the menu for a few seconds.  
  
"A cup of tea would be nice," Ryou said contentedly. Daniel nodded and left the two to get their drinks. Ryou looked at the menu again.  
  
"So what do you recommend? They seem to have a lot of good things..."  
  
"Yeah, they do, I recommend sweet and sour beef, lemon chicken, prongs, and the house chow mein," Mokuba said pointing to the items on the menu.  
  
"Sounds excellent," Ryou nodded putting down the menu leaning back on his chair.  
  
"It isn't very crowded here is it?" Ryou observed looking around the place seeing very few people.  
  
"It picks up more in the evening, the place is crowded by six o'clock." Mokuba explained.  
  
"Ah, well it's a nice little place, I can tell you come here often."  
  
"Yeah, all the time, this is my favourite place to eat." Ryou smiled and seemed to relax in his chair.  
  
"It has a nice atmosphere," He said closing his eyes for a second.  
  
"I like the design, it's a huge space but it seems cosy," Ryou commented looking around. There were several statues of dragons around the room. In the very middle there was a water fountain with a huge black dragon with Chinese symbols all around the fountain.  
  
"It's lovely here. Thank you for bringing me Mokuba," Ryou said looking over at his companion.  
  
"My pleasure, like I said, I wanted to. I wanted to thank you for helping me out," Mokuba said with a serious look in his eyes, "You really... helped me... in more ways than one." Ryou's eyes softened.  
  
"What's happened Mokuba? Why were you at the station in the middle of the night?" Mokuba sighed.  
  
"I was going to leave for awhile..." Mokuba admitted with a wistful look in his eyes. He looked over at Ryou.  
  
"Everything's complicated, let's not talk about it Bakura," Mokuba said pleadingly. Ryou hesitated for a moment and then nodded.  
  
"If you ever want to talk Mokuba I'll be there to listen," Ryou said worry etched in his features. Mokuba looked down and laughed softly. He then looked up.  
  
"You're so different," He whispered with a sad look.  
  
"Different?" Ryou asked tilting his head.  
  
"Yes, different. From Seto," that made Ryou frown.  
  
"Mokuba... were you leaving because of Kaib-"  
  
"Ready to order?" Daniel asked coming back handing Ryou a tea and Mokuba a Coke.  
  
"Yeah, two orders of my usual, thanks Dan," Mokuba said.  
  
"Right away!" Daniel said picking up the menus.  
  
"Why were you at the bus station in the middle of the night?" Mokuba asked before Ryou could finish his question. Ryou paused a dejected look coming across his face for a moment. He closed his eyes.  
  
"I suppose... the same reason as you... I won't ask you if you won't ask me... not right now..." Ryou said quietly. Mokuba looked closely at Ryou. He seemed so sad. Ryou was just like him wasn't he... alone... Mokuba slowly laughed.  
  
"Ryou," Mokuba said. Ryou looked up getting a curious look on his face.  
  
"Ryou, let's be there for each other if no one else will," Mokuba said sticking out his hand. Ryou nodded a warm looking coming to his face, "Mokuba... thank you," Ryou said taking Mokuba's hand and shaking it. Mokuba laughed again.  
  
"I'm such a sap sometimes, oh look the food!" Mokuba said.  
  
"Smells delicious!" Ryou said getting an energized look that you usually didn't see on him.  
  
"Yeah!" Mokuba agreed, "Tell Suzie she's getting even better Dan!"  
  
"I'll do that Mokuba," Dan said waving as he left the two to lunch. They ate contently talking about trivial things.  
  
"So Bakura, where did you live before you moved here?" Mokuba asked throwing a prong up in the air and into his mouth.  
  
"London, It was my home until we moved here," Ryou answered.  
  
"Really? Did you like it there?" Mokuba asked. Ryou nodded.  
  
"Yes, I lived their all my life, I had lots of friends there... until..." Ryou trailed off and looked down at his chest for a second.  
  
"Until?" Mokuba prompted.  
  
"All of them suddenly went into a coma..." Ryou said with a sad sigh.  
  
"What?!?!? All of them?" Mokuba asked. Ryou nodded.  
  
"They're better now actually..." Ryou said getting a far away look, "but I haven't spoken to them yet... I'm glad they're okay though... it was my fault..."  
  
"How?" Mokuba asked.  
  
"Never mind that..." Ryou said.  
  
"Sorry if I'm being too noisy..." Mokuba apologized hating the sad look that veiled Ryou's face.  
  
"It's okay Mokuba," Ryou said, "Shortly after I moved to Japan because of my father's work. His sponsors in England were becoming impatient and since there was a good job offer here and we both were fluent in Japanese it seemed like the natural choice..."  
  
"Do you like it here?" Mokuba asked. Ryou paused for a moment.  
  
"Yes, most of it I do like," Ryou said taking a sip of his tea. He got a disgusted look, "It's gone cold I'm afraid... how long have we been talking?" Mokuba looked down at his watch.  
  
"Whoa... it's three o'clock now! We've been talking for hours!" Mokuba said in amazement.  
  
"Better get going then," Ryou said reaching for his wallet.  
  
"I said I was taking you to lunch Bakura, what kind of a host would I be if I let you get the bill?" Mokuba said taking out his credit card. Ryou looked a bit embarrassed to have Mokuba pay, but nodded.  
  
The two left the restaurant full and happy.  
  
"It was nice to go out," Ryou said with a smile, "I don't do it much," Mokuba nodded.  
  
"I didn't think so," He said, "We should do something like this really soon."  
  
"Hmm, yeah," Ryou agreed, "Want me to walk you home?"  
  
"I got it covered, "Mokuba answered, "I'll see you around Bakura." Bakura nodded and walked back towards his apartment.  
  
"So different..." Mokuba muttered to himself shaking his head slightly walking back towards his house.  
  
#####  
  
TBC  
  
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I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh read and review! 


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